Ore pulverizer and sizing device



Nov. 3, 1964 R. E. RHODES ORE PUL'VTERIZER AND SIZING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 16, 1962 INVENTOR. 19/66 4190 15 P190055.

Er M

Nov. 3, 1964 R. E. RHODES 3,155,325

ORE PULVERIZEZR AND SIZING DEVICE Filed April 16, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. A M/14,90 5 19/0055.

film 5% AIZURNEZ United States Patent 3,155,326 ORE PULVERHZER AND SEZENG DEViCE Richard E. Rhodes, 4814 E. Virginia, Phoenix 8, Ariz. Filed Apr. 16, 1962, Ser. No. 187,857 2 (Ilaims. (Cl. 241-53) This invention pertains to devices for pulverizing rock and ores and is particularly directed to such devices for reducing ores to finely divided particles.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an ore pulverizing and sizing device adapted to provide a finished product of extremely fine grit size and texture.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ore pulverizer having an air circulating system for precisely selectively sizing and accurately controlling the grit size of the finished treated ore.

A further object of this invention is to provide an ore pulverizer and sizing device which is simple in construction and durable and dependable in operation.

It is also an object to provide an ore pulverizer which utilizes a horizontally rotating activating member which both breaks up the ore and provides the air circulation which accurately separates the coarse material from the desired sized material and recirculates the coarse material over the activating member for further reducing the coarse material to final desired size.

Further features and advantages of this invention will appear from a detailed description of the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section showing an ore pulverizer and sizing device incorporating the features of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 66 of FIG. 3.

As an example of one embodiment of this invention there is shown an ore pulverizing and sizing device hav ing a circular base 19 mounted on suitable supporting legs 10a comprising the bottom 11 and the upstanding annular side 12 terminating at its upper edge in the outwardly extending annular flange 13. Fixed around the inside surface 14 of the annular side 12 and spaced upwardly from the bottom 11 by the spacer ring 15 are the overlapping stator plates 16 so arranged that their end faces face in a direction opposite to that of the direction of rotation of the activating member indicated generally at 18.

The activating member 18 comprises a rotor disc 19 fixed to the rotor shaft 20 journaled on suitable bearings 21 carried in the housing 22 and suitably fixed to the bottom 11 of the base 10. A suitable drive pulley 2.3

is fixed to the rotor shaft 20 and is driven by a suitable source of power, not shown. To the underside 24 of the rotor disc 19 is fixed a series of radially disposed downwardly extending baffies 25 which upon rotation of the rotor disc 19 causes a flow of air to enter through the air intake. passage 26 around the rotor shaft 21? and radially outwardly under the rotor disc 19 and then upwardly over the stator plates 16. Air many enter the passageway 26 through suitable openings 27 in the housing 22 and the flow of outside fresh air may be regulated through the passageway 26 by suitable sliding closure valves 28 on the bottom 11 of the base 10.

"On the top surface29 of the rotor disc 19 is fixed a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially disposed material throwing members 3% and a series of cubeshaped material engaging and deflecting members 31 so "ice arranged that with the disc 19 rotating, ore deposited in the center of the top surface 29 about its axis of rotation 32 will be thrown outwardly against the stator plates and disintegrated and broken up, the ore bouncing back and forth between the stator plates 16 and the members 31 on the rotor disc to thus pulverize the ore in the presence of the upward flow of air between the outer periphery of the rotor disc 19 and the stator plates 16.

In order to provide a controlled separation of the various sized particles flowing on the aforementioned stream moving upwardly from the periphery of the rotor disc 19 and the rotor plates 16 there is provided an air circulation casing 33 fixed on top of the flange 13 of the base 10 having a top cover 34 through which projects pulverized and sized ore discharge pipe 35 connected by a suitable pipe 36 to suitable separator and recovery apparatus, not shown. Fixed to and depending downwardly from the undersurface 37 of the top cover 34 is the return air sleeve 38 to the lower edge 39 is fixed a long tapered conical member 46 having an opening 41a at its lower end located above the central portion of the top surface 29 of the rotary disc 19. An output control sleeve 41 is telescopically slidable within the discharge pipe 35 for vertical adjustment therein, the lower end of the output control sleeve 41 having an inwardly and downwardly sloping portion 42 having entrance louvers 43 positioned to receive counterclockwise air circulation.

Surrounding the lower end of conical member 40 is the receiving cone 44 suitably fixed to the casing 33 having an opening 45 at its lower end concentric with the opening 41a of the conical member 49 and the axis 32 of the rotor disc 19. Upward fiow air passage 46 is provided between the periphery 47 of the receiving cone 44 and the inside surface 48 of the air circulating casing. Ore 49 to be treated is supplied from a suitable conveyor 50 which supplies the ore 49 to a receiving hopper 51 discharging through a suitable rotary air lock 52 into the supply pipe 53 having a discharge opening 54 for depositing the raw or 49 into the receiving cone 44 whereupon the ore drops to the center of the rotor disc 19 for the pulverizing operation as described.

The flow of air and pulverized ore of all sizes moves upwardly in spiral fashion, counterclockwise in plan view, through passage 46, the heavier insufiiciently treated ore returning into the receiving cone for return to the rotor disc 19 for further processing. In FIG. lthe solid line arrows 55 show air flow while the broken line arrows 56 show ore flow. The finer pulverized material continues to move spirally upwardly inside the casing 33 to its upper portion where it enters spirally into the receiving louvers 57 extending outwardly from the return air sleeve 38, then spirally down the long tapered conical member 40. The heavier coarser materials slide down and discharge out through the opening 41a for return to the center of the rotor disc 19 for further processing. The finer finally sized material coming down passes out through the louvers 43 in the bottom of the output control sleeve upwardly through the discharge pipe 35 for final delivery through the pipe36. By adjusting the louvers 43 relative to the long tapered conical member 49 the grit size of the ore delivered through the pipes 35-36 can be varied. The further downwardly the output control sleeve is adjusted the coarser the material finally delivered, that is, the closer the louvers 43 are positioned to the conical sleeve member the coarser the material removed and discharged from the described separator system.

In 0perati0n.Material to be pulverized enters through the tube 53 to the receiving cone 44with the small end 45 discharging at the center of therotor 18. The material is centrifugally forced outward-to impact upon the stator plates 16 located in a ring around the rotor. The broken.

material is elevated by an air stream entering from the bottom of the rotor. The heavier particles drop out of the rising air stream and fall back into the receiving cone 44 mixing with the newly fed-in material. The finer material rises on the air currentsand' enters louvers 57 at the top of the cyclone 38-49. internally built into the machine. The material spirals downward, the coarser particles staying at the outside of the spiral and leaves at the bottom 41a of the cyclone cone & to be mixed with new feed material and going through the impacting process again and again.

The lighter finely ground material spirals back up on the inside vortex of the downward spiral and leaves the machine through the sleeve 41 and the discharge tube of the cyclone 3840. The tube 35 is an open ended pipe in the center of the cyclone extending below the inlet louver level 57 of the cyclone. A sleeve 41 is telescoped with this pipe which is open on both ends. Around the bottom edge of'this sleeve 41 are louvers 43 facing into the downward spiralling airborne particles of the cyclone 38 44 As this telescoping sleeve 41 is lowered the finer particles of the downward spiralling airborne material which tend to be on theinside of the spiral are scalped off and leaves the machine through the sleeve 41. This gives a coarser mesh output. The louvers 43 tend to disrupt the efficiency of the outside vortex of cyclone 38-46 and by being lowered also shortens the inside vortex causing less efficiency of operation.

When the telescoping sleeve is raised, all material leaving the machine must be raised on the inside spiralling vortex, which gives a finer mesh discharge; Allmaterial not discharged spirals down and out the bottom 41a of the cyclone 38-40 into the receiving cone where it is mixed with new feed and impacted again. This keeps repeating until it is fine enough to be carried out the center dischargesleeve 41 of the cyclone.

The advantage of the above described cyclone sizing is the uniformity of the mesh material produced. A further advantage is the fact that no material dwells around the rotor 1% after impacting. to eleminate the high wear factor. No attrition or scrubbing takes place except be tween particles of material being pulverized.

No other machines have heretofore used the true cyclone 3846 principle for separation of particle size with the downward spiralling vortex and the upward spiralling vortex, spiralling upward but inside the downward spiralling current. And it is further to be noted that the ma chine can vary particle size discharge without varying air velocity inside the machine. This is accomplished by the telescoping sleeve 41 in the discharge tube of the cyclone.

Preferably, the air intake 53 takes air from the dust collecting system using the same over and over with the discharged to atmosphere direct or through a filter so that by discharging 10% and replacing with dry air from atmosphere humidity is kept from building up within the machine. The dust collector, not shown, is preferably operated at a vacuum and connected to the discharge tube 36 or" the cyclone classifier 38-40 which is an integral part of the machine. The purpose of this telescoping sleeve 41 in said cyclone is to make the outside vortex of the classifying cyclone less efficient by lowering and also to shorten the inside rising vortex which causes machine to discharge a coarser product. The separation factor of the outside downward travelling vortex is approximately 190 (times'gravity) and of the inside rising vortex is approximately 1500 (times gravity). This makes for very precise sizing in particle discharge. When the telescoping tube'in the discharge pipe is raised the full efficiency of the outer and inner vortex is used causing a fine particle size to be discharged from'the microsizer. When the telescoping tube in the discharge pipe is raised the discharge louvers have no effect as the inner vortex spirals up and out the discharge pipe.

While the apparatus herein disclosed and described constitutes apreferred form of the invention, it'is also to be 4i understood that the apparatus is capable of mechanical alteration without departing from the spirit of the invention and that such mechanical arrangement and commercial adaptation as fall within the scope of the appendant claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully set forth and described this invention what is claimed and desired to be obtained by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An ore pulverizer and sizing device including in combination: 7

(a) a circular base,

(b) a series of circumferentially spaced inwardly facing stator plates fixed about the periphery of said circular base,

(c) a rotary activating disc journaled on said base for rotation about a vertical axis within said stator plates,

(d) radial baflies on the lower face of said rotor disc to cause air circulation outwardly of said rotor disc and upwardly over said stator plates,

(e) material throwing members fixed to the upper face of said rotor disc for radially outwardly discharging material against said stator plates in the presence of said upward air flow,

(f) an air circulating casing mounted on top of said base above said rotor disc and stator plates adapted to receive said upward air flow to separate and classify the treated ore carried in said upward air flow,

(g) a top cover fixed on said air circulating casing,

(h) a pulverized and sized ore discharge pipe extending downwardly through said top cover,

(1') a cylindrical return air sleeve fixed to and extending downwardly from the undersurface of said top cover located concentrically between said air circulating casing and said pulverized and sized ore discharge p p (j) a long tapered conical member having its large end fixed to the lower edge of said return air sleeve terminating at its lower end in a reduced discharge opening adapted to discharge in the center of said rotor disc,

(k) an output control sleeve carried in an axially vertically adjustable relative to saidore discharge pipe having,

(l) a series of discharge louvers circumferentiaily spaced about the lower end of said output control sleeve through which sized ore is delivered into said output control sleeve from said conical sleeve member,

(m) a receiving cone fixed on said base surrounding the lower end of said long tapered conical member having an opening discharging on the center of said rotor disc below said reduced discharge opening of said long tapered conical member and forming an annular air passageway above said stator plates between said air circulating casing and the outside of said receiving cone,

(it) means for supplying ore to be treated through said air circulation casing into said receiving cone,

(0) and receiving louvers formed in the upper end of said return air sleeve providing for the flow of air and pulverized material from the top of said air circulating casing into the top of said return air sleeve.

2. An ore pulverizer and sizing device including in combination:

(a). a circular base,

(b) a series of circumferentially spacedinwardly facing stator plates fixed about the periphery of said circular base,

(c') a rotary activating disc journaled on said base for rotation about a vertical axis within said stator plates,

(d) radial baflles on the lower face of said rotor disc to cause air circulation outwardly of-said rotor disc 7 and upwardly over said stator plates, (a) material throwing members fixed to the upper face of said rotordisc for radially outwardly discharging material against said stator plates in the presence of said upward air flow,

(f) an air circulating casing mounted on top of said base above said rotor disc and stator plates adapted to receive said upward air flow to separate and classify the treated ore carried in said upward air flow,

(g) a top coyer fixed on said air circulating casing,

(h) a pulverized and sized ore discharge pipe extending downwardly through said top cover,

(i) a cyclone separator unit fixed to and depending downwardly from said top cover surrounding said pulverized and sized ore discharge pipe and located inside of said air circulating casing having its lower reduced discharge opening positioned centrally over and adapted to discharge in the center of said rotor disc,

(j) an output control sleeve within said cyclone separator and telescopically vertically movable in said ore discharge pipe having,

(k) a plurality of circumferentially disposed vertical louvers about the perimeter of the lower end of said output control sleeve adapted to be moved to and from proximity with the inside conical surface of said cyclone separator to vary the vortex activity in said cyclone separator,

(l) a receiving cone fixed on said base surrounding the lower end of said long tapered conical member hav- 6 ing an opening discharging on the center of said rotor disc below said reduced discharge opening of said long tapered conical member and forming an annular air passageway above said stator plates between said air circulating casing and the outside of said receiving cone,

(m) means for supplying ore to be treated through said air circulation easing into said receiving cone, (n) and receiving louvers formed in the upper end of said return air sleeve providing for the fiow of air and pulverized material from the top of said air circulating casing into the top of said return air sleeve.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,092,307 9/37 Gafiney 24153 2,294,921 9/ 42 Lykken 241-55 2,868,462 1/59 Bogot et a1. 24153 2,922,589 1/ Sheldon 241-53 FOREIGN PATENTS 748,813 5/56 Great Britain.

25 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Examiner. 

1. AN ORE PULVERIZER AND SIZING DEVICE INCLUDING IN COMBINATION: (A) A CIRCULAR BASE, (B) A SERIES OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INWARDLY FACING STATOR PLATES FIXED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID CIRCULAR BASE, (C) A ROTARY ACTIVATING DISC JOURNALED ON SAID BASE FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS WITHIN SAID STATOR PLATES, (D) RADIAL BAFFLES ON THE LOWER FACE OF SAID ROTOR DISC TO CAUSE AIR CIRCULATION OUTWARDLY OF SAIR ROTOR DISC AND UPWARDLY OVER SAID STATOR PLATES, (E) MATERIAL THROWING MEMBERS FIXED TO THE UPPER FACE OF SAID ROTOR DISC FOR RADIALLY OUTWARDLY DISCHARGING MATERIAL AGAINST SAID STATOR PLATES IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID UPWARD AIR FLOW, (F) AN AIR CIRCULATING CASING MOUNTED ON TOP OF SAID BASE ABOVE SAID ROTOR DISC AND STATOR PLATES ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SAID UPWARD AIR FLOW TO SEPARATED AND CLASSIFY THE TREATED ORE CARRIED IN SAID UPWARD AIR FLOW, (G) A TOP COVER FIXED ON SAID AIR CIRCULATING CASING, (H) A PULVERIZED AND SIZED ORE DISCHARGE PIPE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID TOP COVER, (I) A CYLINDRICAL RETURN AIR SLEEVE FIXED TO AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE UNDER SURFACE OF SAID TOP COVER LOCATED CONCENTRICALLY BETWEEN SAID AIR CIRCULATING CASING AND SAID PULVERIZED AND SIZED ORE DISCHARGE PIPE, (J) A LONG TAPERED CONICAL MEMBER HAVING ITS LARGE END FIXED TO THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID RETURN AIR SLEEVE TERMINATING AT ITS LOWER END IN REDUCED DISCHARGE OPENING ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE IN THE CENTER OF SAID ROTOR DISC, (K) AN OUTPUT CONTROL SLEEVE CARRIED IN AN AXIALLY VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE RELATIVE TO SAID ORE DISCHARGE PIPE HAVING, (L) A SERIES OF DISCHARGE LOUVERS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED ABOUT THE LOWER END OF SAID OUTPUT CONTROL SLEEVE THROUGH WHICH SIZED ORE IS DELIVERED INTO SAID OUTPUT CONTROL SLEEVE FROM SAID CONICAL SLEEVE MEMBER, (M) A RECEIVING CONE FIXED ON SAID BASE SURROUNDING THE LOWER END OF SAID LONG TAPERED CONICAL MEMBER HAVING AN OPENING DISCHARGING ON THE CENTER OF SAID ROTOR DISC BELOW SAID REDUCED DISCHARGE OPENING OF SAID LONG TAPERED CONICAL MEMBER AND FORMING AN ANNULAR AIR PASSAGEWAY ABOVE SAID STATOR PLATES BETWEEN SAID AIR CIRCULATING CASING AND THE OUTSIDE OF SAID RECEIVING CONE, (N) MEANS FOR SUPPLYING ORE TO BE TREATED THROUGH SAID AIR CIRCULATION CASING INTO SAID RECEIVING CONE, (O) AND RECEIVING LOUVERS FORMED IN THE UPPER END OF SAID RETURN AIR SLEEVE PROVIDING FOR THE FLOW OF AIR AND PULVERIZED MATERIAL FROM THE TOP OF SAID AIR CIRCULATING CASING INTO THE TOP OF SAID RETURN AIR SLEEVE. 